Tagged
by Pixie07
Summary: After the Wild Boar mission, that Sasuke tag along (Manga ch581, Anime ep. 334) Itachi and Sasuke came back home to find a very angry Fugaku waiting for them. Brotherly bond, Father son interaction. Pre/ non-massacre
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello there. This is a little something that it's been on my head like a few weeks ago now, and I been working on it for the last few days. I initially wanted to be a one shot, but it turned out way to long for my taste to be oneshot, so I divided in three chapters, I finished writing the story, but I would update it in the fallowing days.**_

_**Warning: Towards the end in ch 2, there would be some disciplinary actions towards a minor, nothing over the top, nor graphic, just a simple paragraph.**_

_**Also, be warned that in the last chapter could be OOC, but i tried to keep them in chapter as I could.**_

_**Edit 4/30/15: Revised and edited by my awesome beta een nihc, thank you!**_

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Itachi was heading home from a simple D-Rank mission, as simple as it could be. The twelve-year-old protégé had the simple task to stop a wild boar from destroying the vegetation field, one of the biggest farms on the outskirt of the village. His little brother was standing a few feet away from him. Sasuke was telling the story of how his awesome Nii-san knocked down the over-sized animal for the fourth time. The six-year-old had insisted to tag along even after Itachi told him not to.

The elder brother could not help but smile. Even if he was there and knew how the story went, he still paid attention to the excited kid. After stopping by the tea house to get some rice balls for Sasuke and some dango for Itachi, they headed home.

Itachi opened the door; letting his Otouto went in first. Sasuke took his shoes off and placed them tidily at the entrance, all the while still talking about the big adventure of the day. Itachi proceeded to do the same, but he noticed something that was not there when he left the house - his father's sandals. His father was supposed to be at an important meeting at the police headquarter. He wasn't sure why his father was being home early.

Just then, Fugaku walked to the entrance, arms folded against his chest, still wearing his military uniform. The younger Uchiha, still oblivious of his father's presences kept relating his tale, "And then the way you landed was so cool."

Fugaku seldom smiled but at that very moment, it was clear to Itachi that he was not pleased at all. Noticing that his big brother was looking at something or someone behind him, Sasuke turned around and he was stunned to meet his father's furious gaze. Startled, Sasuke took a step back unconsciously and bumped into his brother who was standing behind him.

"Take a shower first. Then I want both of you to meet me in the meditation room in fifteen minutes." Having that said, Fugaku left the two brothers and walked towards the said room.

Sasuke gulped. His father was furious but he didn't know why. Itachi helped Sasuke to remove his archery set from his back and said with a warm smile, "We better get going. I'll help you to wash your hair."

"Nii-san, I'm not a little kid anymore. I can do it by myself."

"Really? If this is the case, why did you sleep in my bed last night after claiming you heard noises?" Itachi teased.

"I- I just wanted to be close to you. In case we were under attack, I could aid you." Sasuke's face turned red but he didn't want to appear weak in front of his brother.

"Oh I see, thank you. Come on, let's hurry before father gets angrier."

They took the quickest shower they had in their lives and changed into their casual clothing in record time. And with just one minute to spare, the Uchiha brothers were kneeling on the wooden floor of the meditation room. Their father, who was in front of them, was now wearing his usual kimono.

Fugaku started talking to his sons with his usual tone, which had always sounded harsh to people who weren't familiar with him. "Today I was supposed to chair a rather important meeting. However, I was being interrupted by an old man who said he needed to talk to me urgently in the middle of the meeting. This man turned out to be a very grateful farmer who wished to express his thanks to 'the Uchihas Brothers' for saving his farm from a wild boar with a wagon full of fresh vegetable." The Uchiha leader paused momentarily to study his children's expressions. As usual, Itachi's face didn't betray any emotion. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed to be confused and anxious.

"When I left this morning, I have already heard of your mission, Itachi. However, if I recall correctly, you, Sasuke, were to be in this house. And the reason why I allowed you to be alone in the house, instead of following your mother to visit her aunt at the hospital, was to let you practice archery. In our training grounds, not in your brother's mission."

Both of the Uchiha brothers remained silent and kept their eyes looking down to the floor when they finally understood why their father was furious. Neither of them dared to refute their father's words. Sasuke started to worry that not even his Nii-san would be able to escape their father's rage.

"Sasuke?" Fugaku asked.

Sasuke looked at his brother nervously, eyes pleading for help. And the older boy did not have the heart to turn him down.

"Father, I-"

Fugaku continued to glare at his youngest son as he held up a hand to stop his elder son from speaking further. Itachi promptly shut his mouth and shared an apologetic look with the boy next to him. Sasuke had no choice but to speak for himself and Itachi.

"I just wanted to help Nii-san. He said not to follow him but I didn't listen."

This time Fugaku turned his attention to Itachi for an explanation. Itachi began explaining, "Once in the farm, I let him stay and…" But before he could finish, he was cut off by his father once again.

"Sasuke, go to your room and wait for me there. I'll be with you shortly after I'm done talking to your brother."

With that, Sasuke got up to his feet, bowed his head and retreated from the room as fast as he could. Once Fugaku deemed Sasuke was far enough from earshot, he resumed the little conversation he had with his heir.

"You let your brother stay? I would never imagine such irresponsible action from you."

"With all due respect, father, he was already there. Telling him to go away would be useless. You know he is stubborn and he always do as he pleased. I preferred to let him believe that he was helping me, on my command, then let him act on his own."

"Your obligation was to take him back to the compound and make sure that he didn't follow you again, which you shouldn't have let it happen in the first place." Now, the Uchiha leader was raising his voice.

But Itachi was unfazed by it as he continued to explain the situation calmly to his father. "I know it was my mistake. It was a simple mission that took me no more than five minutes to complete. Bring him back, convince him to stay and then going back, would take me more time - time that would allowed the animal to do more destruction to the fields. I had a mission to complete. I'm a ninja who sworn to protect and aid this village, no matter what. And that's what I did." The older boy never raised his voice once, nor showed disrespect towards his father. He understood perfectly why his father was mad.

"Yes, you are a shinobi of Konoha. But, you are also part of the Uchiha clan. You are not a mere member of it. You are my heir. Your duty is to protect the clan and not expose them to danger. Your loyalty for your clan should be above anything else, including the village."

"I'm perfectly aware of my duties towards the clan and Konoha. My actions today didn't betray my responsibilities as a member of this clan, or as a shinobi. Sasuke was never at risk…"

"Not at risk?" Fugaku yelled, "'When I fell and saw it charging at me, I thought I was done for it.' That's what your brother said."

"If you've heard that, then you must've also heard when he said, 'But then, Nii-san, you knocked that beast over in a blink of an eye.'"

Itachi never talked back to anyone, especially to his parents. They could accuse him for betraying the clan, Konoha or the Country of Fire, but not his precious little brother. "I would never jeopardize my little brother's safety. I'm more than competent to protect him, you know that. I will not let him get hurt, I promise you that much. And I give you my word that this won't happen again. And now, knowing how much this troubled you, I'll make sure that this would be the first and last time it happened."

Fugaku grunted as he tried to find the words to counter the mature-beyond-his-years boy in front of him. He knew that most of his eldest son's words were true. He could entrust Sasuke to Itachi without a doubt. Itachi was an elite ninja and he would make a great leader one day but he was also a caring older brother. Questioning his loyalty towards his younger brother was unfair. However, Fugaku was a concerned father after all.

Deciding to let this subject slipped, Fugaku spoke, "All I need to hear is that you will not let this happen again. And since you understand that, you are dismissed. I strongly suggest for you to rest in your room and stay there until dinner time." With that, he got up on his feet and walked out of the meditation room. Now, there was another child of his that needed to comprehend the seriousness of this matter.

TBC...

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A/N: I don't really know, nor didn't found the exactly ages of Itachi and Sasuke when they did this mission, If I had to guess for Sasuke height I would said he is about 10, but I know that by that time the clan was long gone, so I choose the younger ages, they could fit for my fic.

Please let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Edit 5/4/15: Revised and edited by een nihc, thank so much :)**_

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_**CH 2**_

Sasuke was sitting on his bed, waiting for his father nervously. His hands began to sweat when he heard the steady footsteps approaching from the hallway. He had hoped it was Itachi, but deep down, he knew that was not the case. He was proven right when the door opened and his father entered. Before Fugaku shut the door behind him, Sasuke could see that his Nii-san was entering his own room.

The younger Uchiha quickly swung his legs out of the bed and stood up. He noticed that his father still seemed to be very angry.

"What were you thinking, Sasuke?" Fugaku asked with a low and intimidating voice.

"I just wanted to help Nii-san. I'm sorry."

"And what makes you think that Itachi needed your help? Wasn't he clear enough when he told you not to follow him? Why did you disobey his orders? Why did you disobey me when I clearly said you were not to leave the house compound?"

"He was going alone and I wanted to be with him, just in case he couldn't stop the boar."

"If Itachi was no match for it, what made you think that you could take down such animal?"

That was a tricky question that Sasuke didn't anticipate.

"I have not considered about this before." Sasuke admitted. "But since I've been practicing, I thought I could handle it. I just wanted to be there for Nii-san." The young Uchiha replied sincerely.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the answer that his father wanted to hear him say. What Fugaku was expecting to hear from his son was that if things turned out to be too complicated for him to handle, he would get help from people who was fit to do the job.

The naivety or arrogance of Sasuke (Fugaku wasn't sure which one it was, maybe a mixture of both) had made him so angry that he had to fight the urge to activate his sharingan. But raising his voice would had to do for now. "You are not a ninja; you are not even in the academy yet. Hitting your target at the bull's eye a few times doesn't qualify you to proclaim yourself competent to aid your brother. You could be nothing but a nuisance for him."

That last sentence hurt Sasuke but he tried his best to hide it from his father as he said, "But Nii-san let me help him-"

"Tell me, what would you do if he asked you to leave?"

"I don't know." He lied; he'd try to convince Itachi until his elder brother gave in, just to make him shut up.

"You would disobey him again. That's why he let you stay; because he knew you wouldn't listen and you would do as you please. That needs to be changed now."

"I'm sorry."

"Saying sorry won't fix anything, Sasuke. Do you have an idea what could've happened?"

The young boy shook his head.

"Not only your brother could failed his mission, but both of you could got hu-"

Fugaku raised his right eyebrow in surprise when his child suddenly retorted, "Nii-san is the strongest ninja ever. He would never fail a mission. He's awesome and that stupid boar was no match for him."

Even though Sasuke was just six years old, he was mature beyond his age – something that the Uchiha genes seemed to produce. However, he was just a child who loved and looked up to his brother more than anyone else. Itachi was his hero. And a hero never fails a mission.

"So don't belittle Nii-san's ability." Sasuke yelled in his hero's defense.

Of course the father of two did not like how his child yelled at him at all.

"SASUKE!" the head of Uchiha clan yelled back even louder. He would never allow such insolence in his household. "Raise your voice again and I'll discipline you," he warned his son.

His father's reprimand dampened Sasuke's spirit considerably. The boy's posture slumped in defeat. He knew he could never win against his father.

"I know Itachi's abilities as a ninja perfectly. But like all shinobi, he has weaknesses. A ninja's worse enemy is his emotions and your brother succeeds in that area better than anyone I have ever known. But when it comes to you, it is a different story. He would hesitate or become reckless when he's making a decision, which would lead to no good."

There were conflicting thoughts in Sasuke's mind. For one part he understood what his father was saying, but the other part didn't really comprehend it. Itachi did not hesitate nor did he act recklessly and the mission was a success in the most awesome way possible. So what his father said made no sense to him. Now he had the options of either staying quiet and letting his father have his way or exposing the truth.

As the result of a mixture of his stubbornness, Uchiha's pride and a streak of rebelliousness, Uchiha Sasuke proceeded to prove his father wrong. "You're wrong - that didn't happen. He did nothing of what you just said."

The older Uchiha was fuming like an active volcano ready to explode. "SASUKE, this is my last warning, I won't allow any insolence in my house. That mission was more than easy for your brother to handle, even with you there. But that doesn't mean it couldn't go wrong. What if he jumped in front of the animal and got hurt, instead of attacking from behind? This time you followed him to boar hunting; next time you might follow him to a mission of higher rank. Your brother might get ambushed by a group of enemy. The enemy will use you against him. You're going to be an obstacle for him, no more than a distraction and a nuisance. Get it into your head: your brother does not need your help. If he can't succeed, your chance of it is below zero. You're not at your brother's level; it would take decades to reach him. You are of no help, but a problem to your brother."

Yes, he was being very hurtful, but if the nice way couldn't reach Sasuke, perhaps the harsh way would. He needed his son to understand that what he did was not okay and needed to make sure he would not interfere in his brother's missions again.

Sasuke could feel tears forming in his onyx eyes and fought with all of his willpower not to shed a single tear. The Uchihas don't cry, especially in front of their leader. His father deliberately hurt his Uchiha's pride, something that he was taught to protect. So Sasuke instinctively launched another verbal attack towards his father. "If Itachi didn't want my help he would say so and made me stay on the hut's roof. But he didn't - he asked me to help him. If he ever needs help, I'll be there, whether he asked for it or not. Deal with it, father."

That was the last drop that overflowed the glass. Fugaku's patience had reached his limit. Sasuke was a bright child, sometimes too smart for his own good. And Fugaku couldn't understand why his child refused to listen to his reasoning. He would need to take more extreme measures to make him listen.

Without any warning, Fugaku grabbed Sasuke, sat down on the child's bed and forced the now terrified kid to bend face down on his lap. For once, Sasuke wished he could go back in time to change things. He had never been disciplined this way before but he knew what was coming.

Fugaku sighed inwardly. He had never raised a hand to his children before. They never gave him a reason to, until now. He didn't like the idea but he knew this method was effective, he had known by experience. A very long time ago, he had tested his own father's patience and the consequence he faced was something similar. But he did learn from the punishment. And that's what he needed Sasuke to do. Putting aside the guilt in his mind, Fugaku raised his hand and let it fall hard on his child's rear.

Sasuke bit back a quiet sob as he fought the tears that threatened to escape from his eyes. After a few strikes, he couldn't hold them anymore and let them rolled down his cheeks. The physical pain was nothing compared to the utmost humiliation that he felt at the moment.

Although Fugaku noticed his son's tears, he suppressed his guilt and continued with the punishment. The tears didn't mean the boy was repenting and until the boy showed signs of it, this would continue. No more than a few more smacks, Sasuke pleaded his father to stop.

"Please stop, father. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please… I'm sorry."

More than gladly, Fugaku stopped, although he betrayed none of his emotions to the boy. He lifted the crying boy and made him stood in front of him.

Sasuke wiped his tear and apologized again, "I'm sorry."

"Do you understand why you were punished?" Fugaku asked.

"Because I disobeyed Nii-san and you and I yell at you.."

"What else?"

"I put Nii-san's mission at risk."

"And?"

Was there something else? What else did I do wrong? Sasuke honestly couldn't think of anything else and his confusion showed on his face. Fugaku closed his eyes and sighed. He got on his feet and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he turned to his son and said, "I will leave you alone for a few minutes, to think about what you really did wrong to get me this angry. When I come back later, I want to hear that answer." With that, he left Sasuke alone.

Sasuke rubbed his sore butt with one hand while the other hand wiped away the fresh tears frantically.

When Fugaku walked out from Sasuke's room, he didn't leave immediately. He lingered outside for a while and used an ancient technique passed down from the clan's ancestors to hide all signs of chakra. Itachi's door opened as soon as he couldn't sense his father's chakra. So imagined his surprise when he found his father was standing right in front of him. Fugaku wasn't mad. Instead, he watched his eldest son with comprehension.

"If you go and comfort him now, he will never learn. You know this is not something that we can let him get away with. He was lucky that it was D-rank mission. It could be an A-rank."

"I understand, father." It broke his heart to hear his little brother crying but he knew that his father was right.

"Now, I would like you to go back to your room and do not step out of it until dinner."

Then Fugaku was out of sight.

_**TBC**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Edit 5/4/15: Revised and edited by een nihc, thank you much, you're such a wonderful beta :)**_

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_**CH3**_

Sasuke was lying down on his bed, thinking hard about what else that he did wrong on that day but to no avail. After thirty minutes or so, Fugaku walked into the room once again, this time he was holding a first aid kit. He ordered his son to sit up and then he started to look for any injuries. Fortunately, the only thing that seemed wrong was a little scrap on the boy's left arm, nothing serious or life-threatening.

After disinfecting and patching up the wound, he asked his son, "Did you figure out what you did wrong?"

Sasuke, with shame written all over his face, shook his head. Fugaku closed his eyes as he stood up and said, "Until you do, don't come out from this room or talk to me. The only time you can be out is for dinner."

Dinner was more quiet than usual. Mikoto tried to break the tension between father and son but she didn't have enough time to do that because she had to stay overnight to keep her aunt company in the hospital. After cleaning up the table and doing the dishes, the Uchiha brothers were ordered to stay in their room by their father once more. Once upstairs, Itachi broke the silence, "Do you want to talk?"

"But father said we are not to leave our rooms."

"I know and we're not going to disobey father, all we need to do is sit by the doors." And so they did. At first they talked about nothing in particular, but as the night went on, their conversation delved deeper.

"Nii-san, was I a nuisance to you today?"

"No, what makes you think that you were?"

"Father said so. He also said that you don't need my help and that I would be no more than a trouble for you."

"Well, I think father spoke out of anger when he said those things. But, he's not completely wrong."

"Then, is true that-"

"Sasuke, let me finish, okay?"

Sasuke nodded.

"I didn't really need help. I'm strong enough to deal with a wild animal by myself. That's why I was send alone. But, that doesn't mean that you cause me trouble. I took the opportunity to see how much you've improved and what are your flaws, so that we can work on it. However, I do agree with father that you were wrong to follow me, especially after I said you couldn't." Itachi said cautiously, in order not to hurt his Otouto's feelings.

"But you let me help once I arrived!"

"Well, you were already there and it was an easy mission. I didn't see the necessity to send you back which I knew you wouldn't listen. But, if the mission were to be of higher rank, who knows what could happen. That's why you should obey when someone older tells you to do something, because we know better."

"You too? Father also told me the same thing."

"If father and I both think the same way, it means that we are right. Mom would probably think the same too."

"Do you think mom will be mad at me and she won't talk to me too?"

"I'm sure that won't be the case but I do think that she'll be sad about it. But, why would you think she wouldn't talk to you?"

"Father said that until I figure out what I really did wrong, I can't speak to him."

"Judging by the tone of your voice, I presume you don't have the slightest idea why."

Sasuke nodded, still in deep thought of what it could be. His brother was smart, maybe he would know. "Do you have an idea why he is mad?"

Itachi smiled at him and nodded.

Sasuke's eyes went bright. "Really? Tell me, tell me." Itachi, still smiling, shook his head. The younger Uchiha frowned, "Why?" He sounded very annoyed.

"If I do, then you won't really learn from your mistake. But I'll give you a hint. He's not really mad. If you figure out exactly how he's feeling, then you will know what you did wrong." Then, Itachi faked a yawn and suggested for both of them to get some sleep. After bidding each other good night, the brothers went into their respective bedrooms.

After thinking about what his brother said for a while and repeating what his father said for like hundred times, Sasuke finally came up with an idea. But he couldn't wait until morning to talk to his father. He felt awful that he had made his father feel that way. He got up and walked towards his parents' bedroom at the end of the long hallway. He noticed that the lights were on inside and knocked on the door hesitantly. After hearing his father's permission to go in, Sasuke entered his parents' bedroom nervously.

Fugaku was sitting on his bed, back resting against the headboard, with blankets on his lap and a book in his hands. He was reading and he wasn't paying attention to his son who just stood by the door.

"Father? I think I know what I did wrong."

Fugaku put his book down and turned his attention to his son. Sasuke took it as a sign to proceed.

"I put myself in danger and not just me but Nii-san too. I apologize for making you worried. I'm so sorry, father. I didn't mean to."

"Apologizing will not solve the problem, Sasuke. I want a solution."

"I know, father. Now I understand that what I did was wrong. I should never interfere with Nii-san's mission, no matter how easy I think it would be. I promise that I won't do it again and I will listen to you and Nii-san, I promise."

"Very well, I see that you've finally understood your mistakes. I hope this is not just words. You should go to bed now. We'll talk about this better in the morning."

"Father, can I sleep with you tonight?" Sasuke asked a bold question but he felt like spending some time with his father after everything that had happened that day. He knew that his chance of succeed was very low but it wouldn't hurt to try anyway.

The Uchiha leader fixed his son with a stern look, "You know that-"

But Sasuke interrupted before he could say no, "Please... daddy?"

Did he just say 'daddy'? The level of cuteness that was displayed by his little boy was more than what he could handle. Those pleading and bright puppy eyes didn't help either. Not that he would let his child knows his weakness against those eyes that could cast a spell stronger than any genjutsu that sharingan could cast.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Fugaku patted Mikoto's side of the bed and said, "Just this once."

Without wasting any time, Sasuke jumped onto the bed and quickly crawled under the comfy cover. With a big smile on his face, the youngest member of the Uchiha household closed his eyes and snuggled close to his daddy. After wishing his father goodnight, he fell asleep almost instantaneously.

Fugaku couldn't help but smile.

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_**A/N:This was the last chapter, thanks to the ones that reviewed favorites, fallowed and view.**_


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